Hiris is a modular wrist-worn computer

The current glut of smartwatches shows no signs of abating. This one does things a little differently, however. It’s modular, so you can slot in different components depending on what you’re using it for.

These components come in the form of expansion cards. Want to test Hiris‘ sensors? Slot in the breadboard. Want to listen to music while out running? There’s one for that. Fancy GPS tracking to be enabled? Ditto.

It’s touted as a wearable computer, rather than a smartwatch. It’s certainly chunkier than most techy timepieces. It fits different wristbands, so you can go for a sporty or casual look, and different mounts, so it can be waterproof or stick to your tennis racket, snowboard, or any other piece of kit.

It comes in two versions: the Core Unit and the Tracker Unit. The Core is more advanced, with the expandable slots, AirTouch (basically non-touchscreen gesture control, so you can swipe your hand left or right to scroll through a presentation, for example), a bigger battery and more sensors (temperature, humidity and heart rate).

Though the Tracker Unit is waterproof, while the Core is only splashproof. Until you put it in a waterproof mount, anyway.

It also comes with a wireless charger. No annoying Samsung-style charging cradles here, thank you very much.

We’re not sure about it. A modular wearable sounds like a good idea, but do you really want to swap parts every time you go for a run? Or listen to music? It’s pretty chunky too. And the more we read about it, the more it seems like a Jack of all trades, master of none.

It’s raised over $11,000 of its $80,000 funding goal, and has 39 days left.